791 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



October 19, 1912. 



AMONG THE ALPINE 



FLOWERS. 



"Sun that burned out of season 

 With the old magnificent flame 

 Jlaj'-timo - knew. . . 



Professor J . IT. Mm-Ka il. 



After 



a long and dreary time, little 

 broken by the Jbri^htness "of the usual 

 autumn days, we ar.3 again revelling in the 

 bright sunshine, and our flowers still re- 

 spond to its advanf OS, e\ en though the days 

 have grown short and tlic frosty feeling of 

 tho evening and tlir morning tells us (-hat 

 the dreaded winter is <lrawing nigh, when 

 we shall be living on the memory of tht^ 

 past and on the hope of the future. 



Yet this need not hinder us from drink- 

 ing in the enjoyment of the present, even 

 though it is tninglefl with "taking thouglit 

 lor the nioi row for the gardener must 

 lay hi. plans and periorni work for future 

 rca ! isal ion. 



Many of our al[)ine flowers seem now to 

 be giving us a fiesli bloom, as if the rest 

 of the h)ng, dull <lays had stimulated them 

 to a fresh desire to give us delight now that 

 the sun once more shines upon us, an<l the 

 dreary, rainy days have passed for the tim(^ 



The Alpine Poppies. 



In the moraine we havt^ a little group of 

 alpine poppies, delightful little flowers, 

 membez's of a gorgeous rae*\ which the 

 hand of the florist has tutort il into almocst 

 endless varieties, many of the greatest 

 beauty, Strangely susceptible to his influ- 

 ences have proved many of these flowers 

 of Lethe, and but few o-f the species have 

 been paseeil by. Ow would liavi/ expected, 

 however, that the dainty Papaver alpinum, 

 a charming miniature, so to speak, of the 

 Iceland poppy, wouhl hav** <'s<-ap(Ml his 

 notice. It is a gem for tlu* ro<-k garden • 

 one or these exquisite little flow^us whose 

 beauty seems perfection. Of the most ex- 

 quisitely graceful foliage, with leaves as 

 if wrought by some mo^it skille<:l craftsman 

 out of the finest frostetl silver, and with 

 dainty stems bearing fragile bloss(mis of 

 varied colours, from white, through yellows 

 to almost scarlets, the alpine poppy stands 

 as one of our bonniesst of rock plants and 

 as the most beautiful of the race for the 

 alpine garden. Only a few inches high, it 

 may be plante<l almost anywhere. Not 

 always a long liver, Papaver alpinum will 

 generally reproduce itself from seeds if 

 given a spot where the seeds may find a 

 r<^stiiig-place until they germinate and 

 yield their dainty plants. The sunny 

 rock garden in liglit soil will suit th -:;i, 

 but they appear to <!eli^ht in the moraine, 

 where they flower ca riier ami hH)k hap- 

 pier than in the other parts of the garden. 



One of the latest developments of this 

 alpine poppy has betMi the produ<'tion of 

 varieties with finely laciniate<l petals, which 

 are verj^ beautiful in their wav. ^'et I ;im 

 not sure that I enjoy these as much as the 

 older forms, which have dainty little cups 

 of all colours. Possibly it is prejudice on 

 one's part, but the fact remains that I pre- 

 the smooth-edged flowers, beautiful as 

 are the laciniated forms of Papaver alpi- 

 num. Charming, indeed, are these flowers, 

 however, though among the choicest in- 

 deed, are the Pyrenean Storms, sold in seeds 

 as Pafinver alpinum pyrenai<'um. Those 

 who wi>}i To 4,\vn thest^ lovely little flowers 

 nuiy be^t obtain them in the shape of seeds. 



Colchicum autumnaie ma.jor. 



Those \vh ) have ^rown tlu- common nu'a- 

 dow s;dfioii, ('(ilchii'um autumnah\ are de- 

 terred from buying th*. variety major, 

 thinking tlu.t it is hut little better thau'the 

 typical C, autunuia'e, m]u;sc lon<^ weak 



PYRUS CRAT^GIFOLIA. 



The various species of pyrus have on 

 the w^hole, been seen at their best during 

 the present autumn; and certainly we 

 rarely have the opportunity of seeing this 

 particular species in better condition. It 

 is very distinct amongst other species, as 

 its leaves resemble those of a Crataegus 

 rather than a pyrus ; while its bushy habit 

 hardly suggasts its correct famiW. ■ A 

 native of INorthern Italy, it belongs "to the 

 aria group of the genus^ thus having as 

 close relatives the white beam (P. aria) and 

 the wild service (P. torminalis). 



Growing into a good-sized bush, it is 

 showy in May by reason of its white, rose- 

 flushed flowers, which appear in quantity. 

 Later on another attraction is present in 

 the yellow-and-red fruits, which are small 

 and glossy. Then a few weeks before they 

 fall, the leaves take on a dark red hue, 

 Avhich makes them very conspicuous. As 

 the plant grows satisfactorily in loamy soil, 

 and does not readily outgrow its positicn, 

 _ it well be used more often in places 

 where a fast-growing tree would be out of 

 the question, whilst it is quite worth a 

 prominent position as a specimen bush. 



W. D. 



tube renders it so useless in the border in 

 a wet autumn, the flowers soon falling down 

 and looking most unhappy unless spearing 

 through some plant which will hold 

 them up. But C. autumnale major is a 

 superior thing indeed. Of much greater 

 substance and with larger and finer flowers, 

 it is in every way a desirable subject. It 

 has not the deep colouring of Colchicum 

 speciosunij but its soft purple and white 

 blooms are very satisfactory companion^ to 

 the bigger and more deeply hued "showy 

 meadow saffron." C, autumnale major is 

 really vastly superior to the typical 

 autumnal colchicum or meadjow saffron. 

 It is a capital bulb for the lower parts of 

 the I'ock garden, preferably in a moist, 

 rather lich soil, though heeding but little 

 its character, except that in poor soil it 

 gives smaller blooms. 



Astra.ntia. gracilis. 



Through the kindness of a good friend, 

 as deeply devoted to alpine flowers as my- 

 self^ I am the happy possessor of a dainty 

 little astrantia, which is called Astrantia 

 gracilis, and seems to be quite overlooked 

 by the usual cultivators of i-ock plants. It 

 is an undeserved neglect, as it is a charm- 

 ing little plant of its kind. These astran- 

 tias, or masterworts, do not appear to bo 

 general favourites, probably because they 

 have not the charm of bright colouring to 

 attract the eye of the garden-lover. Yet 



they grow wonderfully on one, and soon up the family of Libertias, but all possess 



considerable beauty and decorative value. 

 Further, they lend themselves to a variety 

 of purposes, being suitable for the herba- 

 ceous border and the rockery, whilst they 

 form delightful subjects as pot plants. 



In common with a host of other plants 

 whose native habitat is an equable and 

 warm climate, the Libertias have been suc- 

 cessfully acclimatised^ and are fairly com- 

 fortable in our English gardens. Itds usual 

 to afford slight protection in the shape of 

 bracken or eocoanut-fibre around the 

 crowns during severe periods, and when 

 it is stated that these plants hail from 

 Chili and New Zealand, it will be imder- 

 stood that warm and sheltered spots should 

 be selected in w^hich to establish groups or 

 colonies. Another important detail is to 

 afford a light and sandy soil, and ^vliere 

 the natural soil is heavy and tenacious, a 

 nine-inch layer of drainage must be placed 

 3ft. deep. 



Propagation is easily and readily effected 

 by means of seeds and division, and if the 

 last-named method be adopted the best 

 time to carry out the work is immediately 

 after the plants pass out of flower. AVith 



THE LIBERTIAS. 



Less than half a dozen species go to make 



ed 



The little Astrantia minor well deserves 

 a place in the rock garden, though it is 

 now less frequently seen than some years 

 ago. Still more deserving is A. gracilis, 

 which resembles minor much in the appear- 

 ance of its elegantly-formed white flowers of 

 a < reamy tinge. It is^ however, neater in 

 its growth, and the stems are more in pro- 

 portion to the size of the flowers and foli- 

 age. Tlie stems are shorter ; the flowers are 

 as neat, and the foliage is larger and less 

 finely divided than that of A. minor. In a 

 low part of the rock garden, near a stone 

 pathway and in light soil, this choice little 

 masterwort is thriving and assuming pleas- 

 ing dimensions. That it is only nine or ten 

 inches high will show that it is a good plant 

 for many positions, while the fact that it 

 blooms for months renders it doubly accep- 

 table. 



Otiier Flowers. 



There are still many flowers in the rock 

 garden. There are tunicas, silenes, violas 

 in plenty, erodiums, geraniums, cam- 

 panulas of various sorts and sizes, dian- 

 thuses, autumnal croc'uses, colchicums, 



............. ...^u..> eu.enioums, regard to sced-sowing, if seeds are sown m 



ir.h ' v^^onioas, ambitious arabi.^s ^ gentle hotbed in March, and the seedlings 



;vhich scorn to bloom m spring alone, with dnlv J ,..r^. fhev niav 



many other flowers of beauty and charm. 

 Tlien there are mounds and taller groups 



of many-hued leaves, all adding to 



our 



- ^— ^ - ^ — — — 



])leasures in these fast-running days which 



soon close our ccarden vear. 



S. A KNOTT. 



Stenotaphrum g I a b r u m 



variegatum.— Th.o green form of this 

 is known by the specific name of americanum 

 as well as that of glabrum. It is also popu- 

 larly called the Australian Buffalo Grass. 

 The apparent contradiction between these 

 two names is to be accounted for by the 

 fact that it occurs in many of the warmer 

 portions of the globe. The variegated-leaved 

 variety is a very pretty basket plant, as 

 when suspended the spreading stolons hang 

 down for a long distance. The grassdike 

 leaves are disposed in tufts along the entire 

 length of these pendtilous stolons, are bright 

 green, prettily striped with white. Under 

 favourable conditions it will groAV like 

 weed. — T. 



a 



are duly grown on in a frame, they may 

 be planted out on a south border, and 

 first-rate plants result by the end of the 

 season. It is inadvisable to transfer to 

 permanent quarters until another season, 

 and, to be on the safe side, they should be 

 given the protection of a frame or frame- 



L. tricolor is an attractive species, with 

 variegated leaves, after the style of Zea 

 quadricolor, and white flow^ers. It seldom 

 exceeds 2ft. in height. L. grandiflora is 

 worthy of its name, and towers up to Sift., 

 while the flowers are similar to those of 

 the foregoing. L. formosa is content to 

 rise 18in., the leaves being arranged -H 

 dense tufts. The panicles of white flowers 

 form elegant material for vase decoration, 

 etc. Pale blue colouring is vseen in L- 

 cnerulescens, which, togetlier with the last- 

 named, claims Chili as its home. Then "vve 

 have L. ])uleh*dla and L. ixioides, which, 

 perhaps, ai-e the least desirable in this small 

 group of plants. Walter H. Aggett. 



